PW_04_2017

Professional Development

Young Police Officers’ Seminar A PCSO’s experience Tracey Ward This was the fourth Young Police Officers Seminar, hosted this year in Green Bay Wisconsin, with over 50 police officers from 30 different countries. I was the first ever Police Community Support Officer

to attend and it was an unforgettable experience. A fter a long flight, I arrived in Chicago and met Mike Allen representing Notts Police and other officers from Poland, Spain, and New Zealand. We took a trip to watch the Chicago Cubs (and in my case learn about baseball), before a walk along the waterfront to attend the Annual Blues Festival. The sporting theme continued when were then taken for a private tour of Lambeau Field, home of Green Bay Packers - the only football team in the NFL owned by the town. Here season tickets are hard to come by and can be left in a will and passed down from generation to generation. Monday was the first official day of the seminar, with over 20 different uniforms all in one room. May Britt-Rinaldo, Vice President and member of the International Executive Board, took the floor to welcome us and tell us the history of the International Police Association. Then we began a day of interesting talks about Drug Trends and Native American Gangs.

On Wednesday we took a trip to Madison, which was over a two-hour drive from Green Bay, and were greeted by Madison Police Department Training Academy. After a show of hands for ‘who has what equipment?’ and answers of guns, tasers, sprays, batons, handcuffs, they asked ‘Tracey, what do you carry?’ My answer ‘nothing I hold an empty belt, a radio on my vest and where possible use my communication skills’ was a first and a real shock to officers - especially those from the USA! We were shown how to use an enforcer as a method of entry and given an opportunity to have a go. I wasn’t quite expecting parts of the wall to come down as you smash the door, but the other officers said I was a natural! In the late afternoon, we took a trip to the State Capital where we were invited to sit in the gallery. Here one of the State Representatives thanked us for the service we provide to the public and we were given a standing ovation – this was a wonderful way to end the day and I felt really grateful and proud of the job I do. On Saturday, we packed up our belongings and said our goodbyes to the amazing people and the great memories we’d made. I went off to continue my American adventure in New York, Philadelphia and Washington DC, ticking a number of things off my bucket list in the process.

We ended the day with a presentation from Jason Weber AKA ‘Hollywood’ from Fox Crossing, about the use and importance of social media and the ever-growing audience it attracts, with Jason showing us how to keep communities updated. Later we changed into our ‘formal, ceremonial’ uniforms for the official seminar photographs. As a Police Community Support Officer I have never had a formal uniform; this meant that I was the only officer in a standard patrol uniform and the others were actually rather jealous of my comfy T-shirts and combat trousers. After admiring the different uniforms from around the world and taking selfies, we headed to Nelson Tactical Trap and Clays Shoot. On Tuesday we spent the day at Fox Valley Technical College in Appleton, a site kitted out for training in a variety of fields. This was my first experience with a gun, so when I was given a Glock 9mm, I had no idea how to even load it, let alone how to take off the safety catch. Despite my clearly non- clumsy and trustworthy nature and the fact I asked very very nicely, I was still not allowed to drive the armoured SWAT vehicle. I did, however, receive a leg up and was allowed to get into the vehicle.

POLICE WORLD Vol 62 No. 4, 2017

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